Gouging another STRS retiree?

Lenora Wood to RH Jones, December 29, 2006

Subject: RE: Fw: "The retirees of STRS are leading the pack!"

BOB

ON THE SAME SUBJECT RE: CAREMARK

THEY JUST CHARGED US $50.00 FOR A PRESCRIPTION FOR WHICH WE HAVE BEEN PAYING ONLY $32.15. WHEN I CALLED CAREMARK THEY SAID THE DRUG COMPANY HAD RAISED THEIR PRICE. I THEN CALLED STRS AND ASKED IF CAREMARK COULD DO THIS IN THE CALENDAR YEAR 2006 AND THEY SAID YES. WHAT A BUNCH.

LEN

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From John Bos, November 03, 2006

Subject: Re: drugs
Paul,

Meijer is already selling the same prescriptions as Walmart for FREE!

Caremark is NOT an honest company. We all know that. It will be very interesting to see if STRS again selects a company that is not 100% transparent.

This is another example where the STRS Board (based on my information) gave authorization for Dr. Asbury to select the best provider with very little or no information what was in the contract. According to information on the internet, Caremark has one of the lowest ethics of any company that operates in the USA. Unfortunately, the STRS staff has not recognized the problem. Perhaps they would be more receptive if they would use Caremark and learn about the problems with their daily personal experiences.

We, the retirees of STRS are being taken to the barnyard with high co-payment, drug pricing, and poor service.

The prescription crisis is a national issue, but the retirees of STRS are leading the pack!!!!

My mind will never change on Caremark. We can only hope that CVS brings a higher ethical standard to the table for the next 12 months. I do not believe that this will happen in a brief period of time.

John Bos

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Paul Boyer to Damon Asbury, November 03, 2006

Subject: drugs
Dear Damon:

With the news of the merger or buyout, however it is classed, we expect STRS to immediately begin negotiations to get our drug prices lowered so that Caremark does not make all of the profit but passes some of it on to us. There is a revolution going on in the drug industry, as you well know, and we will not stand paying these high co-pays that have been determined for next year.

Strict negotiations should have some exciting results for STRS. Don't back down with them; show them you mean business. There is no reason now why our prices should go up when the drug companies are offering lower prices directly to consumers.

$125 co-pay for Tier 3 is absolutely out of line as is the new copay for Tier 2.

Paul